Epping Forest is an ancient woodland. It's the largest green space in the capital, covering 6,000 acres and stretching 14 miles from Newham in inner East London to Epping in Essex.
Epping Forest Heritage Trust (EFHT) exists to conserve the Forest and ensure it is a welcoming, accessible place for the wide range of communities it intersects with.
We spoke with EFHT's CEO, Peter Lewis, about the work they are doing to engage new communities and inspire people to love and care for the forest.
Can you tell us about the history of the Forest and the work of EFHT?
“At a time when we're thinking about sustainability and how people live in with the planet, there is a lot we can learn from the history of the Forest. There has been a symbiotic relationship between humans and the Forest for hundreds, maybe thousands of years. The pollarding, coppicing and copparding that has taken place here has provided the wood for houses and firewood, while also lengthening the life of the trees and adding to the biodiversity of the Forest.
Epping Forest Heritage Trust was founded in 2018 after a merger of the Friends of Epping Forest and the Epping Forest Centenary Trust – bringing two approaches, activism and hands-on conservation, under one wing. Our mission is to conserve the Forest while educating and inspiring people to enjoy the Forest responsibly and play their part in its protection for generations to come."

How do you ensure all local people and communities can access and enjoy the forest?
“One of our big aims is to ensure the Forest can be enjoyed by all of our communities. We’ve got an amazing team of 25 volunteers who run the Visitor Centre at High Beach where we welcomed 9,500 people to the Forest last year. We also have a further 100 plus volunteers performing a whole range of activities from conservation to running free guided walks for the general public.
An integral part of our theory of change is bringing new people into the Forest; inspiring the next generation of people to love it and want to protect it.
As things stand, the Forest is disproportionately visited by white communities despite the fact the Forest covers a hugely diverse area of London and Essex. To address this we’ve created a community engagement officer role and we’re looking at ways to work with different communities in ways that are meaningful to them.
Working with national groups such as Muslim Hikers and Black Girls Hike, as well as many local organisations like Trinity Centre, and Fences & Frontiers, we’ve been able to develop projects around the needs and interests of these groups. These have included a 14-mile circular hike for 200 people, our first family walks, tree identification and more. Through these relationships we introduced over 800 new people to the Forest in the last year.
Local community groups we’re working with all do amazing things – from the Wren Group in Wanstead Flats who are working to protect skylarks, to the Higham’s Park Planning Group who focus on the protection of their local part of the Forest. Many of the smaller organisations we work with struggle for capacity and funding so our next priority is to become an intermediary – to give grants to smaller organisations and help them get their communities involved in ways that are natural to them.
We are also working with Essex County Council on the Essex Cultural Diversity Fund. As part of this we are working with Talia Randall, a local poet and performer, who's delivering a series of podcasts about diverse communities, and their stories and connection to the Forest, as well as the barriers they face.
The more ways we can get people involved, whether it's through the ecology of the Forest, the heritage of the Forest, or the culture related to the Forest, the better."
How do you balance the need to make the Forest more accessible with your conservation work?
“Weighing up how to protect the biodiversity of the Forest while making it more accessible is a key challenge for us. It is vital that the right facilities are in place to welcome new people while not impacting negatively on the Forest. For example, wet weather trampling causes a lot of damage to the understory of the Forest, so we are making the case for more all-weather paths across the whole of the Forest.
We are also encouraging visitors to use sustainable transport - public transport, walking or cycling rather, than driving to the Forest. We have worked with local councils and Transport for London to put up signage, giving clear routes to the Forest from Loughton and Epping stations, and we’d love to see this signage at all adjacent stations on the Central line and Overground.”

Advocacy and campaigning have always been core to your work. Can you tell us about your current campaigns?
“We advocate on behalf of the Forest, both with the City of London, and the local authorities that surround the Forest. Our aim is to protect it from inappropriate development, high levels of pollution and damage from increased football.
We have run awareness campaigns throughout this year of elections, to encourage candidates to pledge their support for the Forest. We then following up to ensure they realise their responsibility to the Forest – for example, local Councillors have a role to play in how they exercise their planning powers, and their health and wellbeing responsibilities."

How has your Locality membership benefitted you?
“Joining Locality was the first thing I did when I joined EFHT. Locality shows how to be a community organisation with integrity. I encourage staff to go to events to learn from other organisations’ experiences and share what we’re doing – I really believe in that peer network of sharing."

What are your hopes for the future of Epping Forest?
“We want Epping Forest to be a thriving space for people to enjoy for generations to come.
The City of London has recently produced a report looking at the natural value of the Forest. This has shown the value it brings through improving people's health and wellbeing, capturing water and taking pollution out of the atmosphere, as well as naturally cooling the city.
Our aim going forward is to use this as a springboard to help increase the biodiversity of the Forest and welcome more, new people. This will be a win-win for everyone!”